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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

All you need to know about Cloth Wipes

If you are cloth diapering you may also consider using reusable cloth wipes. Reusable wipes not only save money, but they also help maintain the quality and effectiveness of your cloth diapers. Disposable wipes that contain oils or waxes can cause build up on cloth diapers and may result in repelling issues.

You can purchase cloth wipes from a cloth diaper retailer, or use thin washcloths as an inexpensive alternative. Wipes can also be a fun DIY project. If you have a sewing machine, making your own cloth wipes is pretty easy (see my easy DIY fleece wipe tutorial). This video shows two other techniques for making your own wipes:

Moistened wipes are the best way to clean up diaper messes. Using water is the easiest way to moisten your wipes before use. You can apply water to your wipe using a spray bottle, or pre-moisten it and place it in a wipes container.Some babies do better with wipes moistened in a wipes solution as opposed to just water. I use a wipes solution made with 1 part witch hazel (look for it in your pharmacy isle at the grocery store) to 10 parts water. I add a drop or two of Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion concentrate to this witch hazel/water mixture. The Kissaluvs concentrate gives the wipes solution a wonderful lavender and tea tree oil fragrance and the witch hazel acts as an astringent to keep baby bottoms clean and dry. Used in small quantities, Kissaluvs concentrate will last for several years.Now that you have wipes and wipe solution, you may decide that you want to fold your wipes to dispense out of a pop up container. This is a great option if you plan on using cloth diapers and wipes at daycare. The pop up container makes it easy for daycare staff to access pre-moistened wipes and the wipes will dispense the same way as disposable wipes.Here is a great demonstration of folding your wipes to dispense from a pop up container:

If you send your child to daycare, it can be fun to decorate your child's wipes container with their name. You can design your label on the computer or draw it on a sized sheet of paper. Tape over the entire label using clear packing tape and secure it to the plastic wipe container: this will make your label waterproof. This is an easy and fun way to showcase your adorable cloth wipes.

My sister made me a ton of wipes out of flannel scraps and they are awesome. I do like wipes with a bit of texture better, but we have a big variety of fabrics. I also just wet with water or a spray bottle. I didn't find that solution made a big difference and it was a bit of a hassle.